Art is a business

The photograph above is of an exhibition in the Swansea Grand. It was a group exhibition when I was doing my degree. Some of my work is on the right. Alex is posing on the left and Jen is the lady next to her. Jen is a very level headed lady who kept me sane during the degree course. She is very talented and does a lot of very precise work.
My one regret during the course was the lack of practical preperation for the prospective artists.I was already reasonably established at the time but I couldn't get my head around the guaranteed failure that was in built in the course.

Probably again just my perspective but if anyone wanted to be a full time artist they needed business and marketing advice more in fact than letting your imagination develop! The course had many good elements but for someone wanting to earn their living as an artist it was incomplete.

Business planning finding a market and producing marketable goods, being self -employed, was not included never mind income tax accounts etc.etc. Of course not everybody who attended wanted to earn a living from art, and some had experience of the world already but for others it was always going to be tougher (or more likely impossible) than it needed to be.

This all came to mind as a result of watching "The Fixer" last night. Alix Polizzi puts to right failing businesses..For anyone running their own business there is always something to learn but it does help if you are pointed in the right direction from the start.